Help with puff pastry

[jasonr]

I am making some puff pastry in a couple days. I was just wondering if someone could explain these instructions to me. I understand fully the mechanics of it, as I have made other puff pastry recipes several times. However, I do not understand shapes, and am absolutely awful at understanding instructions for making shapes.

The recipe says: "when the dough is three times as as long as it is wide, fold it like a business letter: fold the bottom third of the dough over the middle third, then fold the top third over so it meets the edge of the folded dough"

I have checked online tutorials on how to fold a business letter, but the pictures are not detailed enough. I still don't get it. Can someone explain this to me in the most detail possible, like I'm an imbecile (when it comes to understanding shapes, I actually am) so I can be 100% certain what this means?

[Ishbel]

Imagine a rectangle 12 inches long (width doesn't matter here). Using your 'eye' to measure, fold the bottom third (ie 4 inches) to the middle. Then fold the top 4 inches to the bottom of the two layers that you have originally folded.

[marmalady]

Does this help? http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000161.htm

Also, have you tried doing an image google search?

[mish]

Originally Posted by jasonr

The recipe says: "when the dough is three times as as long as it is wide, fold it like a business letter: fold the bottom third of the dough over the middle third, then fold the top third over so it meets the edge of the folded dough"

Think of the pastry like a piece of paper (letter) you are folding to fit inside an envelope. Fold the dough 1/3 up from the bottom, flip it over to meet the folded edge of the dough. I see it as Marmalady's pic.

[jasonr]

Thanks! Actually, a friend explained it to me last night showing me a piece of paper. I think I got it.